The United States and China in Power Transition - Strategic Studies ...

those so-called “leaders of capitalism promoters” (“走
资本主义道路的当权派”) and to “purify” the Chinese
people. In the next 10 years, this political movement
turned China upside down. The destruction of China
in all aspects was utterly beyond words.
1978-2008: Yangwu All Over Again.
Mao passed away in September 1976. He left behind
a China with a dysfunctional and backward
economy and a nation with over 900 million people
exhausted in repeated political movements and constant
preparation for war against the United States,
the Soviet Union, and hostile neighbors. The prospect
of China’s modernization was as remote as ever.
This situation was to change in 2 years. Deng Xiaoping,
a legendary figure who went through dramatic
ups and downs in his political career under Mao’s
dictatorial rule, emerged a winner in the post-Mao
CCP leadership power struggle. He subsequently led
the CCP leaders to put a stop to Mao’s fantasies and
launched the economic reform in China in 1978.
Initially, few had expected Deng to make anything
spectacular. Yet by the late 1980s, his development
policy started to turn China around. The CCP
followed the footsteps of Japan, South Korea, Taiwan,
Hong Kong, and Singapore to pursue wealth through
a relentless export-oriented policy. Foreign investment
and joint ventures flooded China. China was
soon to become the factory of the world. By the mid
1990s, China-made consumer products started to fill
department stores all over the world. By its 30th anniversary,
Chinese economic development had made
phenomenal progress. As shown in Figures 3-1, 3-2,
3-3, and 3-4, in three vital measures of national wealth
and viability, gross domestic product (GDP), trade,
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